DT Gerard Warren may become trade bait

August 13, 2007

While many of my fan brethren are claiming they saw this one coming for nearly a year, I have to say I’m pretty shocked. I knew there would be turn over on our D-line when Bates came in, but Warren fit the Bates model better than most of our returning linemen and we just gave him a nice deal in the off-season. So, when the Denver Post reported today that Gerard Warren wasn’t traveling with the Broncos to San Francisco because Denver was attempting to shop him for a trade I was a rather surprised.

The Post is reporting that two different sources have confirmed Denver is looking to trade the defensive tackle (most likely for a 2008 draft pick). Now, I don’t know how much of this I’m buying because they also claim Warren wasn’t a “fit” for Jim Bates’ system. That’s simply hog-wash. Warren is 6’4″ and 325lbs. If Jimmy Kennedy is filling Warren’s slot, it’s not because he’s a bigger Bates run stuffer (officially they’re listed at the same height and weight).

More than likely this is a case where the broncos feel they have good depth at DT; and more importantly, no considerable drop-off between 1st Team and 2nd Team talent. In that situation, they might be able to get a draft pick in 08 by trading the best known name on the D-line without hurting the team.

I mean, we can’t keep ALL of the DT’s we have on the roster right now, and if they cut from the bottom, they don’t get any draft picks at all. And while I like Warren, he might not have shown enough difference between himself and players like Kennedy to justify keeping him over his cheaper counterparts.